Ben Darlington was the first Chair of the Tampa Section of AIEE formed in 1952. In 1963, AIEE and the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) merged to form the IEEE. The merged section, used the Florida West Coast name.
Ben Darlington graduated from Tarpon Springs High School in the late 1920’s and attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. He pursued courses toward a degree in Electrical Engineering. Returning home to Tarpon Springs, Florida, he acquired employment as a mechanic in the Western Auto store. Among his duties was doing machine work and rewinding electric motors. His interest in communication led him to taking a job with the Peninsular Telephone Company and moving to Tampa, Florida. He had advanced to a position of General Plant Manager when a merger with General Telephone Company occurred. He was the first Section Chairman of AIEE in 1952.
In a Dennis R. Cooper article titled "the People machine", an illustrated history of the telephone on the Central West Coast of Florida, it was reported that the General Telephone Company of Florida Employee Chorus was organized in 1962. It was led and directed by Ben. He was married to the former Doris Reed and together raised three sons.
Col. White was the first Chair of the IRE Florida West Coast Section Chartered in 1956. Before coming to Tampa he had retired from the Federal Civil Service in Washington DC., in the spring of 1956. He served during both World Wars. He was recalled to active duty in 1941. During W.W.II he rose to the rank of Col. in the USAF.
He had been active with the Washington DC Section of the IRE and in coming to Tampa he took the lead in organizing the new section. At that time the closest section was in Miami
His Fellow bio reads: (note he was a fellow of both the AIEE and IRE)
WHITE, EDWIN LEE, AIEE Fellow 1947, IRE Fellow 1955. Born: July 5, 1896, Valley City, ND. Degrees: A.B., 1922, M.S., 1925, George Washington University. IRE Fellow Award: "For his leadership in advancing the use of radio in the interest of safety and efficiency in industry." No citations were given to Fellows by the AIEE prior to 1952.
Other IEEE Awards:Other Awards: